Dr David Ashton is launching a surgery programme to tackle what he calls an “obesity epidemic” in children aged 17 and under.

Around 30% of children between six and 15 are overweight or obese.

Dr Ashton, medical director at healthcare organisation Healthier Weight, said: “There is a group of young people with serious weight problems for whom the only effective treatment is going to be surgical intervention.

“I’d say at least 10,000, or even several times that amount.

“Some of them are suicide risks. Should we wait until they’re 18, have failed at school, already have diabetes and heart problems?”

The first patient to have the op under Healthier Weight’s new programme was Charlotte Hill, 17.

Charlotte, who has lost 1st 8lb in three weeks, is the third of her family to have a gastric band. Her big sister Katie was just 14 when she had her op, at the same Belgian clinic where mum Juliet had a band fitted.

Charlotte, from Hanley Swan, Worcs, said: “I was about 12 when Katie had her band. Suddenly she was slimmer than me. I was quite jealous.”

Katie, 19, is now a size 8 and 9st, while mum Juliet weighs 14st.

Juliet, 41, said: “I paid for Charlotte to have a band because she needed it and she kept on at me. I had done it for one, so I couldn’t deny the other.

“It is extreme. But why waste your teenage years being miserable when something can be done about it?”

Dr Ashton believes the NHS should cover the cost for families who cannot afford the £7,000 fee.

He said: “Diets don’t work. I’ve seen a 14-year-old who had developed diabetes and was going into heart failure because of his weight. I’ve seen a 15-year-old on anti-depressants.

“We need to confront the problem – not ignore it.”

Tell us what you think – would you let your child have a gastric band?